Monkeybrain in the Monkey World: Chris Roberson Talks Edison Rex #5

It's been a few weeks since its release, but Monkeybrain Comics's Edison Rex #5 brings our titular anti-hero face-to-face with a group of supervillains he's wronged in the past, who attack him at the grand opening of his new headquarters (which, let's face it, sounds like the kind of thing that would happen to a villain-turned-superhero who insists on having a big, public profile).

The issue also features some incredibly strange and creative looks at new characters and, we'll just say it, a number of monkeys. Superhero monkeys, supervillain monkeys...even an ad in the back of the book for a new TEAM of superhero monkeys, coming soon.

Okay, so that might have been a joke. But we can dream!

Chris Roberson joined us to share a few thoughts on the latest issue.

ComicBook.com: So first of all--love the monkey world. What are the odds that ad in the back is for real?

Chris Roberson: In an infinite multiverse, I’m sure that ad is real SOMEWHERE.

But yeah, you’ve got to love a monkey world. And aren’t those characters AMAZING? I’ve got to tell you, that’s one of the great things about collaborating with Dennis Culver, because those designs are ALL him. Here’s what I had in the script originally, for reference:

THESE CAN EITHER BE APE-ANALOGUES OF THE HEROES WE’VE ALREADY COME UP WITH FOR EDISON REX’S WORLD, OR COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, IT’S UP TO YOU. I THINK THE LEADER OF THESE APE HEROES IS A VALIANT-STYLE GORILLA, THOUGH. BUT I’M ON THE FENCE ABOUT IT.

So Dennis took the basic idea of “ape heroes” and RAN with it, as you can see. And anyone that might be disappointed that we don’t get to see an ape-style Valiant shouldn’t lose heart. We’ve got lots of cool stuff coming up in the next few issues.

ComicBook.com: On to Edison: did he get a permit to build that thing? I would think that "reformed supervillain headquarters" would be a tough one to get past the zoning board

CR: We don’t spend a lot of time dealing with the legal niceties of Rex’s situation in the comic, but my thinking is that he does a lot of business under various shell companies and aliases. There was a bit of business in this issue that ended up getting cut, but that I think got mentioned in the backmatter, about Rex holding the patents for all sorts of cutting edge technology, and that’s how he funds his operations. In terms of Edison Aid in particular, the building itself was already there, the former home of the Gladstone Institute. Rex bought it quietly years ago, and then had renovations done. And what is the Gladstone Institute, you might ask? You’ll be finding out all about it in issue 7, I promise!

ComicBook.com: Can I tell ya that the L.A.R.V.A. design is an odd-looking one? I love it, but is one of the perks of running your own publisher that you get to put that on the cover without worrying about some editor coming in and going, "Nobody knows what that thing is, change it!"?

CR: I don’t know, I think that L.A.R.V.A. is kind of cute. And baby LARVA as seen in a flashback is just ADORABLE. But if you ask me (or Dennis, I’m sure), I think that L.A.R.V.A. is destined to be regarded as the sensational character find of 2012!

ComicBook.com: You don't do or say very much without cause--with "the second Eclipse," does that mean we'll get a look at the first one down the road?

CR: Yes. And maybe even the THIRD Eclipse, before too much longer.

ComicBook.com: I love the look on Edison's face when L.A.R.V.A. offers him sex. What did you have in the script to get that out of Dennis?

CR: Here’s what I called for in the script:

REX'S EYES ARE WIDENED IN SURPRISE TINGED WITH FEAR AS LARVA ROLLS AWAY, BEING SASSY.